Binay decries efforts to alienate Aquino
By JP LOPEZ AND WENDELL VIGILIA
MALAYA
MALAYA
Political talk? What could President Aquino be telling Vice President Jejomar Binay during the opening ceremony of the 5th Global Conference of the Global Organization of Parliamentarians Against Corruption held at the Philippine International Convention Center? Aquino, in his speech, said corruption cannot be eliminated by sending a few officials to jail, exposing a faulty contract or removing an oppressive tyrant.
VICE President Jejomar Binay yesterday belied the allegation of Sen. Franklin Drilon that the United Nationalist Alliance (UNA) is out to make President Aquino a “lame duck” president.
At the sidelines of the Global Organization of Parliamentarians Against Corruption (GOPAC), Binay said UNA remains supportive of Aquino’s “Daang Matuwid” and reform agenda but would not hesitate to expose to the public any wrongdoing it will see.
“We are the new opposition, an opposition who will be supportive of matters which the President is undertaking,” he said.
Binay said some quarters are just trying to create a wedge between him and the President.
“I think the President was clear in his statement. Wala naman kaming pinagdaanang diperensya and he is satisfied with the manner by which I am working,” he added.
Aquino told reporters at the end of the World Economic Forum in Davos last week that he does not have any “issues” with Binay who founded the UNA together with former president Joseph Estrada.
Binay also downplayed claims of administration officials that UNA is taking advantage of the President’s popularity to boost the chances of its senatorial candidates in the May elections.
He said he is rating high in surveys, and so are other UNA leaders like Estrada and Senate President Juan Ponce Enrile.
Presidential spokesman Edwin Lacierda said Wednesday that UNA does not want to go against Aquino because of Aquino’s high approval ratings.
UNA secretary general Navotas Rep. Toby Tiangco yesterday said what makes Lacierda’s statement “regrettable” is that he is “belittling the support of the Vice President for the actions of the President.”
“We need to remind him that the VP is also a member of the Cabinet and therefore part of the official family. What Lacierda did is to question an alter ego of the President. After almost three years in office, Lacierda should realize he is no longer spokesman for the LP (as he was) during the 2010 elections. His devotion to (Interior Secretary) Mar Roxas should be set aside in favor of supporting the President and his official family,” Tiangco said.
Tiangco said UNA has always been clear that it is a constructive opposition, ready to support the President’s policies and programs that benefit the people, and would actively serve the role of fiscalizer in the Senate.
“Kung meron mang gustong manlito sa tao, hindi kami yun. I think they should first review their slogan and check the background of those who are part of their senatorial ticket,” Tiangco said.
Tiangco also said Drilon should also stop accusing UNA of wanting to turn Aquino into a lame duck President “unless he wants the people to believe it.”
“If he keeps repeating (the lame duck pitch), the people might believe that it may be true. It could be self-fulfilling,” he said.
UNA senatorial candidate San Juan Rep. Joseph Victor Ejercito said they are merely presenting themselves “as alternatives to the administration ticket.”
“The Senate is the people’s fiscalizer and pulse and as such is better to remain independent than to be a rubber stamp. Nobody has the monopoly on who can say who has the right, who is capable, or who loves the country,” he said.
Ejercito said that if the LP leadership is really confident of its own candidates, they would not have needed to adopt candidates of other parties.
Ejercito also said recent surveys show the people are leaning towards UNA candidates because of their “independence.”
UNA spokesman JV Bautista said the administration wants a “puppet Senate” under the LP. This, he said, will lead to “negotiated compromises between the executive and legislative branches of government.”
A spokesmen of the Liberal Party reiterated Drilon’s challenge for UNA to show its true colors.
House deputy speaker Lorenzo Tañada III said UNA is obviously playing the opposition and “this is why the administration senatorial candidates are called Team PNoy and the UNA senatorial candidates are not.”
“This is the reason why PNoy himself did the voice-over in introducing the Team PNoy candidates (in our political advertisement). These are the candidates he trusts that will help his Daang Matuwid program succeed from 2013-2016,” Tañada said.
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